A Busy Weekend

With the school year over, it is time to kick it into crafty high gear. Kidding, but I love that I have a bit of extra time during the day to craft while school is out, otherwise it usually has to take place between 9-10pm. I don't know about you, but this isn't really my best time to think. So...with it being my first official day off for the summer, I decided to whip up some cards. 

This upcoming weekend is going to be a busy one. My baby turns 2 on Thursday. I can hardly believe that time has gone by so quickly already. My mom's birthday is on Friday. We are having a birthday party for Owen on Saturday and Sunday is Father's Day. Way to pack it all in one weekend, eh?

Let's go backwards. Today, I decided to spend some time making Father's Day cards for the grandfathers/fathers in our lives. 

I used a couple challenges and a new Stampin' Up set: Work of Art to make a simple and clean Father's Day card. 

First, the inspiration: 

Pals Paper Arts Challenge #206 provided the colors

Fusion gave us the card layout

and Cas-ual Fridays Challenge #132 set the manly card parameters. 

Walla...a card fit for a father!

I used Papertrey's Signature Greetings by Dawn McVey for the sentiment, some thick twine, and a big shiny button. I'm glad to make a card for two great fathers. We are lucky to have them as grandfathers to Owen and fathers to us. 

Best Wishes...Foxy!

Back again today with a combination of amazing challenges. Owen is down for a nap which means Mama gets to make some cards. 

Pals Paper Arts #191 provided the color palette (which I must admit, I was a bit scared about)

Fusion Card Challenge #4 gave me the beautiful layout

and CAS-ual Fridays #128 provided a bit of extra inspiration to finish my design off. 

In the end I feel like this very clean card with pops of Pumpkin and Gumball Green are just what the winter doctor orders. I have always been in love with Fox & Friends so the sweet fox was a perfect addition. The wood grain embossing adds an element of depth without going too crazy. The little slide button also adds a touch of metal for the eye to look at. I'm in love!

Little Bit of Love

Valentine's Day is coming soon and I actually not that big of a fan. For the most part I would rather my husband and love ones save their money on candy, stuffed animals, or flowers because I think love should be celebrated everyday, not just of February 14th! (Stepping off my soap box...)

I will say though that I liked playing with Colour Q's Valentine colors in Challenge #226 

and Fusion Challenge #3 gave me a super clean card layout with made love be the focus on this card.

I used my new Geometrical stamp set and triangle punch and just a bit of twine so pull this card together. 

I liked it so much, I changed the colors and sentiment for a fun, gender neutral birthday card. 

Flower Power

I love how the color yellow has the power to uplift even your worst day. This sweet set of colors and inspiration from Fusion Card Challenge #2 was all I needed to make an uplifting little card. 

This time I didn't use their sketch, but the Very Vanilla, So Saffron, and Going Gray color scheme and flowers gave me all I needed for this little gem. Oh, and let's not forget the bit of woodgrain. I'm obsessed with woodgrain right now. 

I love the generally muted and neutral color palette for this simple card. No frills, no bling, just simple. I feel like a Florida Orange Juice commercial right now, but seriously, I didn't think this card needed any of that. Sometimes the best things are done simply. 

Thanks for stopping and happy weekend. 

Hooray for Today

So Owen and I ran some errands this morning. We went to the fabric store and I don't know what it is, but I just can't stop myself from buying fabric. I don't even know what I'm going to use it for. I think I also keep buying some of the same fabrics over and over again without realizing it because I love them so much. Owen is such a good shopper too. He helped put the bolts of fabric on the counter for cutting. 

We only went to pick up the fabric for the center part of the lap quilt I'm making for our house. I loved the ones I made for the boys so much that I wanted to make one for us. So much for that idea, because I walked out of Jo-Ann Fabric with 9 fabrics. Good thing I hide my fabric right away so my husband doesn't see how much I bought. ;)

It is another warmish day is WI and the roads were a mess because all the rain froze last night, but the mini relief of our inevitable cold winter has given me inspiration to make another card with a pop of color. 

This time Cas-ual Friday #125 and The Friday Mash-Up #142 both provided inspiration with the ideas One Word and the use of twine and a birthday theme. 

Fusion #1 provided a sketch and a picture containing a beautiful color selection such as Coral, Sky Blue, and Gray. 

My card came to life by using just paper and punches. A small scallop circle and a butterfly in alternating Coral and Silver foil cardstock create the stunning centerpiece. A bit of Coral twine and a sentiment from Stampin' Up's Geometrical set and we were on our way. 

Enjoy the weekend and find your little piece of sunshine. 

Winner, Winner

I am so thrilled to announce that this little lady received honorable mention at the Fusion Challenge for the red, white, and kraft card I made about a week ago. 

AND

honorable mention (Mashup Glamette) for The Friday Mashup

Go me! Yeah, sometimes it is the little things!

Red, White, and Kraft

I love the red, white, and kraft color combo for Christmas. I know those these colors are typical for Valentine's Day, but they are so clean and fresh. Fusion Card Challenge combined my love of these two colors and a sweet little sketch. 

The beauty of the Fusion challenges is that you can pretty much take inspiration from any part of their challenge and make it your own. I tried my hand at both the picture and sketch challenges this time. 

I used layers upon layers for this card. I started with a solid Real Red base and added some Fresh Prints DSP to the back. Then I embossed a piece of White cardstock with the new Arrows embossing folder. I love that it looks a bit like a chunky cable knit sweater. Then I used my Big Shot and the Banner framelits to cut out some flags from more Fresh Prints DSP. 

I used the Hardwood stamp to give my circle more depth and then stamped over it with the sentiment, "Love You More." Before adhering the sentiment and flags to the card I wound up some red baker's twine and regular twine into a messy nest and stuck it down to my card. Last, but not least, I added a couple silver sequins for a bit of sparkle. 

Do you have a favorite color combo that you turn to when crafting or making cards?

Sweet Tea Anyone?

Yesterday I made a second birthday card and saved it to show today. It is sort of a companion piece to the card posted yesterday because I used the same color palette and a few of the same challenges. 

Again, Dynamic Duos #76 provided the fresh and sweet color selection with a couple neutrals thrown in for good measure. 

This time the Fusion Card Challenge #16 provided both inspiration and the card sketch as I decided to use both pieces for this card. I really love mason jars, have I mentioned that before? So, naturally I decided to use Papertrey Ink's Friendship Jar stamp set and die again. 

This time, though, I decided to fill it up with sweet tea. One thing I love about summer. The tag pieces are a combination of ribbon and scrap pieces of paper. I love that flags are a simple way to use small scraps. 

Simple, but sweet. Just like tea! Enjoy!

Mason Jar Love

Not only is my birthday coming up in September, but a bunch of teacher friends of mine have birthday's in September as well. I thought I would do a bit of sketch combining again and create a couple birthday cards with a hint of summer in them. 

Dynamic Duos Challenge #67 provided a summery and romantic color story. 

Fusion Card Challenge #16 gave us a little mason jar inspiration. Who doesn't love a mason jar?

And Retro Sketches #78 provided a simple, but amazing layout. 

I used Stampin' Up's Gorgeous Grunge set for the background and Papertrey Ink's Friendship Jar stamp set and die for the mason jar. I also used Papertrey Ink's Think Big #1 for my birthday sentiment. I stamped on vellum and then decided to sew the vellum to the cardstock because I never know how to attach vellum without seeing the adhesive. 

Here's a close up of the stamped vellum and mason jar. 

This makes me want to enjoy a cool glass of lemonade in my own mason jar on this very hot Wisconsin weekend. 

Update: You can also view this card at 52 Card Pickup 235 at Old Back Porch.